


The Best is Yet to Come

by Yoko_Fujioka



Series: Next Generation of Miracles [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Children, Domestic Fluff, Future Fic, Horrible In-Laws, Light Angst, M/M, Sweet, akafuri and murahimu are briefly mentioned, m-preg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-03 09:18:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2845862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoko_Fujioka/pseuds/Yoko_Fujioka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over the course of high school the generation of miracles became better and better friends until by the time they graduated they were on the best terms they had ever been. Upcoming studies and careers would make things tougher, but they all promised to stay close and in contact when they could.</p><p>Midorima almost immediately broke the agreement, disappearing a week after graduation. </p><p>No one could find even a trace of him so life continued on, families were built. </p><p>Close to a decade passes.</p><p> </p><p>He re-appears just as abruptly, now with Takao and a daughter who was both raised by and strongly resembles the two of them. Except the thing is Takao was never missing, a little random in his social media postings, sure, but everyone knew that he's been in South Korea this whole time, doing wedding photos.</p><p>How is all of this supposed to add up?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where the Hell Have you Been?!

**Author's Note:**

> ( **The Following is an Unedited Chapter from 2014.** )
> 
> Ahahahaha heeeeeeey...every...one... Remember me? I wrote one thing way back when and, although I'm like chin fucking deep in this fandom mostly thanks to tumblr, almost no-one knows me because I pretty much contribute nothing! Yaaaaaay~!! 
> 
> Funnily enough, "contributing nothing" does not mean that I have no ideas, it just means that I'm too lazy to write all the fanficts that I plan from very nearly everything I see/that happens around me. So yay to that too. 
> 
> So this is kinda rivaling my last story in "wow this is cliche"-ness, but I admittedly like this a bit more just because there's more character interactions and I really like the way those turned out!! Kagami and Aomine seem like the types to make fun of how "whipped" the other has become (even though they've both been trained to be equally whipped, essentially XDD) so I tried to give that kind of feel between the two couples~ ♥

It was a fairly nice day outside, the warm air moved by a slight breeze that didn’t really do anything to cool the temperature but instead merely moved the stale and polluted air around the city. The sky had been fairly blue just a few hours previously, but storm clouds had recently begun to move in, following the weather report perfectly. That didn’t seem to calm the rushing throng of people going about their business, however, a group of school girls giggling loudly as they passed by an outdoor café where an unusual group sat at a table right beside the fence, talking calmly while nursing their small drinks for all they were worth. 

“You know, this is fun and all, but I wish everyone else were here!” The blonde of the group complained unhappily, pouting slightly into his straw as he absentmindedly stirred his drink, a brightly colored fruit concoction that he had offered everyone a taste of but no one had dared to put into their mouths. 

“You know we all feel the same way, Ryōta-kun” Tetsuya soothed, averting his eyes when Daiki grumbled his usual “not me” before allowing Taiga to continue for him. 

“I heard Tatsuya moved with the entire family to Paris for the last part of Atsushi’s culinary degree, do you think that’s true?”

(The redhead was of course entirely aware that that was the case, he was Tatsuya’s brother so he was always the most up-to-date about the Murasakibara family’s plans and whereabouts, but it was a good conversation starter, nonetheless.)

“Whoa, are you serious?? I had no idea!!” Ryōta reacted immediately and strongly, so much so that the others had to wonder if he was really that surprised or if he was practicing for the upcoming movie role that he wouldn’t shut up about. Apparently it wasn’t all that unusual for models to move into acting, but Ryōta had of course taken it up a notch just because of his flair for the dramatic. Beside him Daiki seemed to assume the latter and rolled his eyes, making Tetsuya wonder who was really the dramatic one between the two of them (until he remembered that he wasn’t the one who came home to a husband who practices the same lines over and over again every single day). The lighter bluenette honestly wouldn’t be all that surprised if the idiot’s Mai photobook collection had grown again in retaliation, but then again he hoped that wasn’t true considering how upset the blonde always got when he saw the them, especially now that they had kids who kept on accidentally seeing things they really shouldn’t have until they were much, much older.

“Seijiro-kun and Koki-kun are also doing well, but the kids caught a cold at school and so they wanted to stay in Kyoto just in case.” Tetsuya broke his own train of thought to continue his lover’s earlier conversation starter, Ryōta of course cooing in empathy as if that would heal all of the family’s ailments somehow. Not that he would expect anything else from the blonde, who was currently wondering aloud how the youngest was taking it, if he was scared or not, etc. 

“I’m sure they’re fine, Ryōta-kun” the bluenette soothed in the voice he usually reserved for the kids at work, subtly looking around to make sure the sharp-eyed waitress wasn’t around to catch him take a sip of the vanilla shake from Maji Burger he had hidden under the table. He was unbelievably glad that place was still in business, both for his and Taiga’s sakes, as it had become a sacred date-spot for them, allowing them to relive the past with the future, their children, beside them. It might be considered low-maintenance or even unromantic, especially since they were no longer awkward teenagers, but nothing could replace all the memories they had made there (plus they still had the best vanilla shakes. Tetsuya had actively tried to find another place that was anywhere near as good but had come up short). 

“How cruel Tetsucchi, how long is it going to be until you call me more familiarly? We’ve known each other for nearly forever now, and even your little Yukina-chan is starting to call me –san!” Ryōta fake sobbed, pulling a familiar handkerchief from the pocket of his overly tight black jeans in order to dab at the large crocodile tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. 

“Ryōta-san, that is my handkerchief, is it not?” Tetsuya spoke up for all of them, his voice vaguely curious (although Taiga could clearly see the mischief in his eye, and knew he was going to speak even more formerly now just to annoy the blonde.)

“Yup, it’s definitely yours, all right.” Daiki spoke up for pretty much the first time that entire conversation, reaching over to grab the light blue cloth right out of his lover’s hand, the blonde responding with a whale-like moan of pure agony as if the bluenette had just ripped his newborn child off his naked breast or something. 

Seeing what were probably real tears gathering in golden eyes, Aomine sighed but handed the cloth back nonetheless, muttering “I know, I know, sorry babe” before giving the slightly shorter man a kiss on the forehead, the blonde cracking a small smile before once again wiping his eyes, this time more realistically. 

“Whipped” Taiga coughed under his breath, turning his head slightly to the side to (half-heartedly) cover his laughter. In retaliation, Daiki growled “you little fucker…” before kicking him under the table so hard it flew up a little bit, thankfully spilling none of their drinks but definitely upsetting them a little bit. The two continued on from there, Tetsuya unsure of whether he should actually stop them or just let them get all their energy out now so they’d be exhausted by bedtime until a voice made him just choose the latter by default.

“You don’t remember, do, you, Tetsucchi? Giving me this handkerchief? It was at our Jr. High graduation, and I was crying so much I kept getting everyone’s shoulders and clothes all wet. That was probably the first time I ever clearly saw you without you actually saying anything, impressive considering all you did was walk up to me to hand me this before wandering away to talk to Akashicchi.” This was probably the most pensive the light bluenette had ever seen Ryōta look, eyes still far away even after he was done voicing his memories aloud, probably going through even more of their Jr. High days in his mind. Idly taking a gulp of his drink, the blonde seemed to drink too much at once, even his face scrunching up when he got a large mouthful of much too sweet liquid all at once. 

“Tetsucchi was my first love you know” he tried to recover, subtly-ish wiping his mouth with a napkin from the center of the table. Honestly Tetsuya wasn’t entirely sure what the best way to react to that would be, but saying “I know” was an obvious no-go, even if it had seemed pretty obvious even to his teammates at Seiren. Maybe he should say it just to set the record straight though, since now that he was married with kids the blonde would hopefully take it a better. 

“Oi, Ryōta, what’s this?” Daiki suddenly butted in, wrapping an arm around the other’s shoulders and pulling them closer together, his mouth very nearly on the blonde’s ear as he spoke, making the latter flush high on his cheekbones. “I thought I told you not to talk about stuff like exes in front of me” The ganguro continued, Tetsuya about to point out that “exes” implied the two of them had actually dated (only to realize it was all pointless, anyway, considering the two of them were now snogging passionately right across from their friends like they weren’t even there, making at least thirteen girls in the general perimeter squeal loudly.)

“Jesus you guys, keep it up and you’re going to end up eating each other” Taiga awkwardly tried to joke, looking obviously torn despite being raised in the “free love” US (not to mention being married to a man himself, although the two of them didn’t really do things like this, and never in public). 

Across from them, Daiki finally disconnected his mouth from the now dazed looking Ryōta, his face screaming the fact that he was about to make a perverse joke (about the “eat” comment, most likely), although he was thankfully stopped before he could say anything thanks to a small reminder pinch on the side from Ryōta (although the mighty kick Tetsuya subtly gave him under the table probably helped). 

Things kind of returned to the normal small chat after that, Ryōta doing most of the talking while Daiki silently held his leg, Tetsuya and Taiga commenting from time to time on something the blonde had said. 

“Midorimacchi?” The blonde suddenly asked no-one in particular, standing up from his chair with his mouth hung wide open, his voice in an awestruck whisper so low it was almost a miracle the others had even heard him. Realizing what the blonde had said, the other three turned towards each other without a word, faces brooding. 

“Ryōta-san, it pains me to say this as well but I doubt it is him” Tetsuya spoke for the other three, standing up as well and placing a hand on the taller man’s shoulder only to look genuinely surprised when the usually overly-affectionate man actually brushed him off, not even seeming to notice the change in suffix which the bluenette had hoped to distract him with.

“If he was in Tokyo, wouldn’t we have found him already? Why would he pretend to disappear off the face of the earth if he was right here? A lot of people dye their hair nowadays, you’re probably mistaken.” Taiga tried to reason, jumping out of the way however when the blonde brushed past him, gathering his jacket under his arm as jumped right over the small chain separating the café from the sidewalk. 

“I’m not mistaken this time, I’m certain of it! There’s something about him, it’s just got to be Midorimacchi!!” The blonde yelled over his shoulder just before he was swallowed by the crowd, wasting no time to look behind himself again before he dashed furiously after the greenette. 

The chances were low, but Ryōta looked so sure, and his face and eyes seemed so bright in that moment…it couldn’t hurt to have a little hope, could it?

“Alrighty then, let’s do this!” Daiki agreed, throwing the other two a smirk as he followed the same path Ryōta had over the fence, the final pair once again moving to face each other in tandem, their expressions matching as well. 

“It’s not like I think it’s actually him, but it would be nice to play against his three-pointers again” Taiga reasoned, Tetsuya smiling and giving him a nod before they followed behind the other two. 

Tokyo was as busy and crowded as ever that day, but there is something to be said about all of your friends being unusually tall and with equally rare (and easily visible) hair colors, so despite leaving a bit after the other two, who had apparently been full-out running as well, Taiga and Tetsuya were thankfully able to find and catch up to the other two fairly quickly. They had stopped right in the middle of the crowd, their backs to the other couple so that they could see they were talking to the greenette but couldn’t see anything else about him, imploring them to move in even closer. The punk scene was very popular in Harajuku at the moment, so there was little doubt that Ryōta had mistakenly stopped some “rebel” teenager on his way to meet his friends or something like that. 

Except the closer the two got, the wider their eyes opened, mouths slack as well when they got a clearer view of the man whom Ryōta was obviously about .2 seconds away from hugging the life out of. Of course he looked a little different, they all did, his hair a little longer, his face more chiseled with a slight five o’clock shadow on the chin, but he still had those ridiculously long eyelashes, green eyes slightly less intense, softer, but definitely one-of-a-kind in color and brightness.

“Jesus fuck a duck, are you fuckin’ kiddin’me?!” Taiga swore loudly in English, the exclamation clearly not only catching the greenette’s attention but making it clear who was behind it as well. Frowning slightly, a prominent crease became visible on the paler man’s brow, left hand, still bandaged for whatever reason, reaching up to adjust his glasses just like nothing had ever changed. 

“Midorimacchi, where have you been? Why didn’t you say anything? What have you been doing all this time???” were just a few of the hurried questions Ryōta asked him, all the others sort of just blending into one fast mush-mouthed mess of muddled gibberish. Midorima actually seemed to understand him, however, blinking a couple of times to let the words soak in before he finally just sighed, running his hand through his hair and finally speaking to them in what was probably the first time in the ten or so years since they all graduated High School.


	2. Meet Mini-Me, Moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, heeeyyy there three year hiatus!! I...uh...almost didn't notice you there! *tugs collar away from neck and makes a speedy escape the second it's back is turned*
> 
> So yup, literally no excuse for this one. By the time I had posted the first chapter I /actually/ had all the points planned out, which is crazy for me especially at the time, and a fair amount of motivation. I even got comments despite that being so early into my "career"! I can only assume I got side tracked by all my constant ideas, because my brain really doesn't shut up, and my love for this fic idea faded away. And that literally is a guess because it happened so long ago I have no actual clue.
> 
> My writing length has of course increased by like 10x since December of 2014, but at least this chapter was started back in like 2015 so I've genuinely been writing little bits while also drowning as my ideas and wordiness increased even more. lololol
> 
> Probably the funniest part is that I told my beta I was re-invigorating one of my fics from 2014 she assumed I was talking about the tengu au....I'm sorry for being a bad fic mom the entire time I've been on this website.... OTL

Despite sighing heavily, the other four boys could have sworn that Shintarō smiled as he spoke, his voice strange, not only deeper but softer as well, and they had to wonder if that was because he had aged, or just because they didn't remember what he sounded like. 

“You haven’t changed at all, have you, Kise? In fact…it looks like not one of you have aged a day since I saw you last” No, unless the sun was shining so bright that they had gone temporarily blind and were seeing things, the greenette was most definitely subtly smiling at them, face reminiscent as if lost in nostalgia. 

“Somehow I can’t say the same for Midorima-kun.” Tetsuya answered for all of them, Ryōta for one nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

“I’m surprised, I thought I was going to get the chance to say ‘what happened to you, you look like shit’” Daiki admitted snidely, Ryōta once again not even getting the chance to chide his lover as Tetsuya sidestepped in with a side karate chop that sent him to the ground in a one-hit-K.O. 

“I have to admit, you look much more put together than I’d expect a bachelor of your age to be” Taiga admitted in awe, which seemed to perk Ryōta’s interest from where he had been bent down nearby, slowly rubbing calming circles on his beloved’s back. 

“Did Midorimacchi get married without even telling us?!” The blonde put his hand on his chest in absolute hurt, although everyone just chuckled. Actually…even Midorima did, just a single one, and his face suddenly turned tender as if lost in thought. 

“I did” He managed once he had shaken himself out of it, and no one even pretended to be surprised, Taiga for one pulling him into an awkward one-armed hug that he obviously didn’t know how to reciprocate. He still tried, though, bless his soul, and the two men nearly circled around each other as they tried to figure out where to put arms and position chests. Finally, they just gave up and settled for a simple handshake, which Midorima then offered to the others as well, all of whom accepted the gesture.

“If all of you are free tonight, would you like to have dinner with us and meet them?” The greenette proposed suddenly, and although there were obvious problems, like keeping all of their kids at their grandparent’s so much longer than scheduled, the curiosity was lit on all four of their faces, only looking around to make sure they were all on the same page before unanimously agreeing. Midorima smiled, almost smug at how the questions seemed to be so clear on their faces that they couldn’t even wait to schedule another, more planned meeting later.

Poking around in his pants pocket and bringing out his old flip phone, Midorima gestured for them to follow as he texted a quick message home to warn of their oncoming quests. The text didn’t take too long, and he was obviously still much more comfortable talking to people than communicating with pixels. Surprisingly, though, he was better at small talk than he had been even at the end of their high school days, when he had already shown quite some growth from his middle school self.

The small talk definitely made the short walk to his apartment complex that much faster, but it quickly became infuriating how good he was at dodging even their most nonchalant questions about what they might find. Ten years ago he might have stayed silent or just ordered them to stop being so nosy, but now he almost seemed to find enjoyment in their frustration, and there was a lot of that. 

The building he lived in was really quite nice, the lobby not ornately detailed or over the top, but still quite large, the ceiling high above their heads. For a moment Midorima excused himself to check his mailbox on the left wall beside the entrance, and his guests took that moment to observe their surroundings, two housewives gossiping with grocery bags on arm, giggling behind open palms when one said something apparently scandalous. Behind them was a wide staircase, and Midorima motioned his old teammates to follow him with a crooked finger, although he paused beside the old ladies in order to wish them a “good evening” with a slight bow which they both returned. Giggling slightly as the group passed them, their voices however slowly faded into the background as they zig-zagged up the side of the building to the fourth floor, quite a climb but at least a semi-protected one, unlike the bare-bones apartment most of them had lived in directly out of university. 

Finally he stopped at room 405, digging into the opposite pants pocket from the one housing his phone and fumbling for his keys before finally grasping them with what seemed to be slightly shaking fingers. Thankfully he managed not to drop them or anything, just took a second too long when he tried to put it in backwards, pushing the door open slowly as the others very nearly leaned onto his back, all desperate to see the house he lived in. 

From first look it was pretty normal, a step separating the shoe shelves from the rest of the house and a bureau holding an inviting bouquet of flowers in a vase standing nearby. Looking in, the first thing in sight was two sliding doors facing each other no more than a few feet inside, but that was all they were able to observe before the door to the right suddenly slid open with a bang, sock-padded feet and a high-pitched voice greeting them energetically.

“Daddy, you’re home!!” A tiny girl ran up to them squealing happily, miniature black pigtails bouncing quickly and her arms spread as wide as her smile stretched her cheeks. 

“I’m back” Shintarō replied warmly, squatting down and grabbing her well before she had entered the hug he had opened his arms for. As he swung her up his chest as he re-stood, the girl’s laughter heightened in pitch at the surprise attack. 

“Ah, welcome home, I was won-“ A second voice suddenly followed from the same room the girl had left, a figure entering the hallway carrying a laundry basket, although it audibly dropped on its side and rolled, spilling clothes in a ring when the speaker noticed their guests. 

There had been a big discussion for years, especially towards the beginning, about the possibility of the greenette settling down with a wife his father chose for him, abiding by his wishes to quit basketball (and therefore cutting contact with everyone he knew because of the sport) and just living the rest of his life like he was “supposed” to. It was a saddening thought, but it explained a lot, and so it was the most accepted answer. Seeing his daughter raised another possibility, because although black was a common color, for the bangs to fall in exactly that shape? It seemed like way too much to be a coincidence.

Sure enough, they were now staring right at the shocked face of one (former?) Takao Kazunari, supposedly single and accounted for in South Korea, doing freelance photography for weddings or something like that. 

Their child, with Shintarō’s exact startling shade of green eyes, raised a few questions: how did Kazunari find him again? Did they only meet briefly, or have they been together this entire time?? The drama was too delicious to ignore, but before four separate voices could clamber to be heard over each other, a slicing but sweet voice in a tone that could only mean certain danger, said a single word. 

“Mitsuki?” Kazunari asked in a voice that surely made his spouse fear for his life, the little girl turning to him but looking slightly worried when she saw the smile on his face.

“Why don’t you show our guests to the living room for a minute? I’m going to have a word with your father and then we’ll all have dinner together, all right?” Making an obvious effort to tone down his anger a little bit, Kazunari smiled down at his daughter a little more naturally, the girl still looking unsure but nodding and allowing Shintarō to put her back down. 

Squatting down beside her made Mitsuki look at Tetsuya instead of the smile Kazunari was shooting Shintarō, which was exactly what the bluenette was hoping for. Despite her energetic greeting, however, the sight of a stranger seemed to make her clamp up, arms turning in towards her chest as she sort of twisted her body away so she was looking at him over her shoulder, green eyes not quite frightened, just a little unsure. 

‘She really is like how I imagine Shintarō-kun was at her age, but I can see Kazunari-kun in her, too.’ Tetsuya thought with a small smile, holding his hand out, palm up, just far enough out of her reach that it would be entirely up to her whether or not to hold it, and she wouldn’t feel pressured, either. 

It took a second of deliberation, but Mitsuki soon grabbed and shook his hand with a small smile as she looked at him with a shyly bowed head, although she raised it again when Ryōta squatted down next to his friend, looking right at the girl with a bright smile.

“Mitsuki’s such a pretty name! Do you know how to write it?” He asked cheerfully, and although Tetsuya was about to scold him for coming on so strongly first thing, he was surprised when the girl seemed to loosen up and unconsciously return his energy, smile small but genuine as she answered back.

“Um, it’s with the characters for “full” and “moon”! I can write moon but full has a lot of strokes!” She explained proudly, and Ryōta returned her smile with a delighted gasp.

“Mitsuki’s pretty smart, isn’t she! Are you looking forward to school?” He continued, and the girl didn’t even take a second to think before she was nodding enthusiastically.

“Uh-huh! I like learning a whooole~ lot!!!” She spread her arms to express the amount, smile widening and resembling Kazunari’s even more. It was infectious, and they were planning on asking more questions about what she liked when the sounds of Daiki and Taiga grunting caught their attention instead.

Angling so that he could peer over the child’s head piqued Mitsuki to turn fully around and look at the two crouched in front of the closed door just across the hall from where Mitsuki had come out. 

“Tetsuya…I think we might’ve messed up. Big time.” Taiga hissed, tipping his head towards the door just before the bluenette could ask what in the world he was doing. 

“What are you talking about?” Tetsuya replied, eyebrow hitched as he slowly stepped forward, about to tell him to step away and stop eavesdropping when the murmuring background suddenly rose to audible conversation. It wasn’t like he had suddenly walked close enough to understand it, rather the conversation was escalating and the voices were following suit. It took just a few words for Tetsuya to understand exactly what his partner had meant.

“Why are you _suddenly_ deciding to listen to me when you’ve been so stubbornly fighting me every time _I_ want to have people over?”  
“It’s exactly _because_ of that, I know we disagree on it but I wanted to meet you halfway by doing it at least occasionally!”

“By giving me absolutely no warning?”

“I’ll admit sending a text when we were on our way was in bad taste, but at least it’s something.”

“I left my cell at mom’s last time we visited! You should have remembered that!”

“How can I possibly remember every single thing that goes on? These are our close friends, Kazunari, it’s okay if the house is messier than I’d usually allow guests to see, this is just to catch up.”

“It’s not just about that, _Shintarō_ , and I wish you’d pay a little more attention to your family. I was scraping the barrel already to make a meal, I don’t have enough to feed this many people. What am I supposed to do?” 

“Don’t assume the worst of them, Kazunari, they may not even stay long enough. If we get caught up talking, I know you will figure things out, you are the reason we’ve been able to survive on so little up till now. We are going to stay In Japan from now on, no running away, and we’ll be able to see them whenever we want.”

“What a beautiful speech, Shin-chan, I think I teared up a little in the middle there.” Kazunari started snickering, even wiping an imaginary tear the same way he used to when he laughed too hard. Shintarō looked mildly unimpressed, but Kazunari did get right back to business, leaning so the counter top edge dug into his lower back as he crossed his arms and slid his bottom half forward, pensive.

“I think I actually might be able to do it.” He concluded, turning back to his other half with what would admittedly be a proud sparkle. Shintaro returned that with a soft smirk, and suddenly reached forward to softly grasp around his arm.

“I really am sorry.” He said earnestly, making sure their eyes were locked on each other and his expression solid and sincere. Kazunari silently kept at it for a moment before swinging his head down and laughing, lifting his other arm to hold Shintarō’s hand after taking it off his arm.

“Ahaha, as if I’m really going to hold a grudge on anything you suddenly decide to do! We’re both in our worst moods around this time almost every single day, and we’re over it in an hour! I don’t even feel bad that we argue, it’s better for us in the grand scheme of things, don’t you think?” He titled his head and smiled, something making Shintarō snort.

“If you speak like that in front of our guests they’re going to assume we’re already so desperate we started marriage counseling.” He pushed his glasses up, but now he could seem amused while doing it.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The laughter very nearly shot out of Kazunari, loud as he placed his hand back on the countertop and took a step towards it, leaning almost in half as his body shook. 

“MAMA! RANGER’S GONNA START SOON!” Mitsuki’s voice called out from the living room, catching the eavesdroppers unaware as they nearly jumped out of their skin. Taiga was the first to peek back into the kitchen, finding the adults facing the door but not looking like they were about to rush out and catch them in the act.

“Little moon, we’ve already seen all the episodes together!” Kazunari yelled back first, light and breezy.

“But maaa~!”

“Turn the volume up a little bit then until I’m done with dinner. But be careful about how high!” Kazunari turned towards the door a final time to give that warning, but after that he genuinely seemed to be getting on to what he had to do so the guests decided to return back to where they were supposed to have been.

The TV was playing something indistinct when they slid open the living room door, Mitsuki looking over curiously as Ryōta placed a single finger over his mouth as if enticing the girl to play along, with what she didn’t seem to really understand.

Not that it really seemed to matter, whatever she was waiting for started the very next moment and, turning up the volume several more notches, then back down but scooting closer to the TV, Mitsuki seemed to suddenly not care about anything else.

Unperturbed, the four sat down around the table, resting against it as the cheerful, energetic first notes of what immediately seemed to be a super sentai show played in the background. 

Less than a minute later the previous episode’s summary seemed to be done and Mitsuki suddenly jumped to her feet, quoting the red ranger and copying his exact moments as he went through his iconic speech followed by the opening theme.

Daiki was unable to hold back his laughter. The little girl was so into it her pigtails shook around like dog's, putting oomph in her speech and dramatics in her movements. It wasn’t so much that she looked ridiculous; more that she was just really adorable. Ryōta knew exactly was going on and gave him that look. 

Probably the only one left in the dark, Mitsuki turned around and looked right at him as she pouted, although something else distracted her.

Unsurprisingly Mitsuki knew the exact sound of her parents approaching, and although she had been around adults this entire time only then did she scoot away from the TV to a better distance. The door slid open, Shintarō having used one hand while the other held a plate. Kazunari was using both hands to carry the rice cooker in.

“Ah, let me help you bring utensils and stuff in!” Ryōta volunteered, shrieking very quietly when Daiki slapped his butt as he smoothly got up and was about to move past him. In the background Shintarō patted Mitsuki’s shoulder as he approached the table, the girl obviously unhappy but allowing herself to be lead to the table in a spot where she still had a good view of the TV.

“Is Oolong tea okay with everyone?” Ryōta suddenly popped his head back in to ask, nobody taking more than a beat to confirm it was okay so he smiled and disappeared again. A commercial break started, and Shintarō put a hand on his knee to help himself up before following, the three of them returning with everything the party would need.

There was obviously a lot of rice to pad out most of the meal, with a bit of pork cutlet already cut up and divided amongst now seven of them. Kazunari sat down next to the rice cooker and popped it open with that glorious cloud of steam, grabbing the paddle to give everyone a heaping helping as they handed him their plate in turn. 

Mitsuki was so engrossed in her show she didn’t pay much attention to this, Shintarō handing over a decorative plastic plate with sections built in for her. When done he had to get her attention and make sure she started eating, although she soon abandoned her silverware and gaped blankly until the real transformation sequence mid-episode got her into action again.

Taiga was paying such close attention to the TV himself that he didn’t even see Mitsuki reach out across the table and grab one of his pork strips, although he wasn’t the only one who turned when Kazunari admonished her.

“Mitsuki, I know we all do it when it’s just the three of us, but when we have guests you can’t just take their food like you would from us, okay?” He tried to explain, but even when looking right at him her eyes were blank as if she had already stopped listening. On the other hand, if there was anything the four other adults knew from their own experience, it was that children, especially only lone-lies, always seemed to have trouble with the idea of “sharing”.

“At least ask first, okay?” Shintarō quickly added, and it was either a coincidence or they had a daddy’s girl on their hands, for Mitsuki was fully attentive and nodding enthusiastically to that idea in perfect time with her papa behind her. It was short-lived, though, for soon she was continuing to shoveling rice into her mouth, the conversation was already forgotten.

Thankfully because Tetsuya grazed rather than ate and managed to raise probably the pickiest eater in the entire universe, Taiga was well-versed in how to get kids to eat what they didn’t want to. Mitsuki was trying so hard to eat her rice quickly and be done with it, and it was obvious Kazunari had already learned to mix the vegetables in with the rice to the right ratio, but she was struggling, always looking back over longingly at the meat on other’s plates. 

It seemed she hadn’t yet figured out that putting more food in her mouth meant she had to taste the gross stuff for longer while she struggled to chew, but rather than tell her that, Taiga had already decided exactly what kind of deal he was going to strike with her. 

“Tell you what, Mitsuki” He began out of the blue, leaning down and across the small coffee table with a hand cupped over his mouth as if he was sharing a secret (and not talking loud enough for everyone sitting there to hear). That certainly caught the girl’s attention, looking him right in the eyes with a sparkle that tattled she was already expecting something. Taiga couldn’t help but chuckle a little at her forward honesty, but that was one of the best things about interacting with kids.

Pointing to her plate and then his own with his utensils, trying to keep a calm face so she wouldn’t think he was teasing her, Taiga continued with a barely hidden grin.

“If you finish what you have there, I’ll give you my pork along with whatever your mama gives you later, okay?” He offered, covering his mouth slightly with his index finger to hide his smile when the girl’s eyes widened even more. Without saying a word, she lifted the plate so high he could barely see her nodding her head in agreement as she tried to eat as quickly as she possibly could. 

Beside her Kazunari chuckled as well, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm, turning his head slightly to the side as he looked as Taiga with both “you spoil her too much” and a “thank you” carried across. Finally he snorted one last time and fluidly tucked a loose chunk of hair back behind his daughter’s ear. 

“Mitsuki, what do we say to Uncle Taiga?” He prompted, caressing her cheek on the trail back from her ear. Mitsuki waited a moment to even show that she had heard him, continuing to eat until her cheeks seemed to be bulging out as far as they possibly could.

“Tahn Koh!” She finally got out, looking like a greedy baby chipmunk with a few grains of rice even sticking to the bursting pouches.

“Good enough for me!” Taiga chuckled with his wide dad smile, reaching across the table to ruffle the girl’s hair messily, causing green eyes to once again look up at him with the enthusiasm of a praised puppy.

She finished her rice quickly, and although she tried to slow down and enjoy her pork, it quickly became obvious she was an energetic, growing girl who needed a lot of food, so Taiga was glad he had given her his share, plus what the others gave her when they were “done” (except maybe in Tetsuya’s case, he really wasn’t lying about not being able to eat another bite), even if they were the reason Kazunari had had to scramble to split the meal up into more servings in the first place.

When she was done, instead of standing up, Mitsuki swiveled around so she was facing away from the table and used her hands to slide herself forward on the polished fake hardwood floor, legs still properly folded beneath her body until she startled when Kazunari quickly reminded her she had to wash her hands before she could play.

The girl grumbled as she stood up and walked across the hall, as if she had actually thought she was being sneaky. (That really must’ve been something, though, to have a parent for whom the phrase “eyes on the back of my head” really wasn’t just an expression.)

While she was in the other room Shintarō stretched his arm across the table a little, lightly grasping the remote so he could change the channel to the next news broadcast. 

“And in the United States, another mass shooting left at least 20 chil-” the newscaster said just as Mitsuki skipped back into the room, pigtails doing almost a full circle in the loose hair-ties decorated with little plastic strawberry beads. For how leisurely he had changed the channel in the first place, it was almost a miracle how fast Shintarō grabbed the remote. Before anyone knew it, they were several numbers over on some inane drama, Shintarō slowing down and looking ready to slowly channel surf to find something good until Kazunari reached across to put his hand on his wrist.

“Oh, just keep it there Shin-chan, you can’t seriously be hoping to watch TV when we haven’t seen these guys in so long! There’s so much I want to know, do any of you have kids yet?” Kazunari turned from his husband to their guests and changed the subject so easily that Shintarō just rolled his eyes a little, turning down the volume almost all the way and then revolving back to face the table. 

Ryōta was the most forthcoming with pictures of their kids from his wallet, and happily babbled on all about them, from their bad habits to their least favorite foods. In the background, Mitsuki lay with her stomach on the floor, coloring in a thick book near the window with her feet slightly kicking to the tune of the super sentai show they had been watching earlier.

Daiki was the next to show the different pictures in his wallet, and although he didn’t have much to add to the original topic, he did share a ton of funny stories from the force, either when his coworkers first saw the pictures (both in his wallet and in his cubicle) and teased him relentlessly, or their reactions when one of his sons called from summer camp because he was homesick and wanted his dad to sing and talk to him. That had apparently been a department joke for monTHS, but Daiki had obviously grown a little in how he shrugged it off and even laughed about it now.

Taiga and Tetsuya were next, although since Yukina was also an only child, they had a lot more pictures compared to the other couple’s growing pack of four. They admitted to the other two couples that they were thinking about having another child since Yukina was getting old enough to be on her own, but they wanted to wait until Taiga had a more stable position at the fire department. The four of them also told Kazunari of their jobs and coworkers, the laughter flowing naturally and often, all of them wordlessly glad that they were able to go back so easily and there wasn’t any of the awkwardness they might have expected.

Suddenly Mitsuki sat up and, scooching across the floor on her knees just so that she was close enough to gently tug on Tetsuya’s sleeve side.  
“Sensei, how did I do?” She asked him with a bright, somewhat teasing smile when he turned around and faced her, holding the crayon-scribbled picture up above her head. Admittedly Tetsuya had talked briefly of his class, but he had a feeling the girl had been able to tell his occupation well before that, which was a little weird, but he guessed she must’ve gotten Kazunari’s perceptiveness.

Since there were four figures but one of them had a bright green scribble of hair he could at least take a gander at what the picture was of, but it stuck out to him that the house didn’t have the usual Japanese look. Kindergarten teachers could attest better than anyone about the creativity toddlers have, but for some reason it had a purposeful but sad aura. 

Starting small, Tetsuya put the picture back on the floor and arched over so that he could see it but it was more in Mitsuki’s “territory”, pointing down to the smallest figure in the picture standing next to her.

“Who is this, Mitsuki?” He asked with a gentle smile, and was admittedly a little surprised when the girl looked back at him with sparkling eyes immediately.

“That’s my kitty, Mr. Midnight!! He’s almost all black except for these super cute little moonspots, and he likes to knock papa’s plants off the windowsill, he’s really funny!” The girl replied in almost a single breath, looking so excited Tetsuya couldn’t help but smile.

“Is Mr. Midnight sleeping right now?” Daiki looked around the room for stray cat toys or a scratching post, but although the room was cluttered and messy, all the belongings seemed to be for humans. Looking back, wondering if she kept him in her room, he winced when flashbacks of Satsuki’s crying face appeared in his mind at the now downtrodden look on Mitsuki’s face.

“Nuh-uh” the girl managed to get out, voice already shaking like she was about to cry, Kazunari immediately pulling her into his lap and pressing kisses on her face, wiping her tears as well when they started to fall. 

“Don’t cry, little moon” Shintarō reached over to wipe away an especially blubbery tear, the girl almost whimpering as she leaned into his hand, only closing her eyes for a short while before she opened them again, blinking rapidly and sniffling with her head turned upwards to clear them.

“I know you’re sad we had to leave him behind when we moved, hun, but if you keep seeing him in your dreams that means you’re not apart at all, don’t you think?”

“Yea, it’s really fun to play with him again.” Mitsuki agreed, wet smile making it a bit hard to believe she was happy with just that much. 

“So you guys just moved here. This really is the first time we could have run into you” Ryōta caught on, trying to say it so quickly it was tinged with the awe as his brain sparked. 

“We were really far away, right?” Mitsuki asked, obviously having no real hold on what the distance was.

“Where exactly was it?” Daiki asked it, desperate for something more than an educated guess.

Kazunari opened his arms to let Mitsuki go, the girl obviously understanding there are some boring adult conversations you just don’t want to be forced to listen to.

“If you guys stay over I’ll get into some…darker things after Mitsuki has gone to sleep, but we can go through some of the more basic stuff now.” Kazunari stated openly.

Going through their phones and finally realizing how late it had gotten, the four of them went off to make final plans with their babysitters, sometimes stepping out into the hallway for a moment but coming back unanimously agreeing that it was too late to try to move the kids around. Even when Kazunari admitted that they’d have to sleep on the straight floor without futons, they didn’t even check before individually agreeing that was nothing.

Kazunari had obviously taken this time to plan what to say first, so there wasn’t any more waiting needed, thank god, to let him gather his thoughts. 

“We went to the US…what, less than a week after graduating? And stayed in a small town there, moving a time or two but Shin-chan went to a small college for medicine and I went for education.”

Wow…that’s a…lot of info dropped all at once.

“I’m somewhat surprised Midorima didn’t go to one of the medical schools he spoke so highly of.” Was the first and only thing Taiga could say, face making it obvious he was trying to break this all up into more digestible pieces. Kazunari still laughed, even though it must have been aggravating at the time.

Indeed, “Shin-chan really hated the idea of having to choose between places so low on the quality lists he had studied for so long, but all I could do was remind him over and over again that the more well-known a place we stayed in, the more likely we’d be found by…one.” Even despite cutting himself off a word, everyone got the idea.

“So it wasn’t us you were trying to avoid.” Tetsuya said it out loud, sounding extremely relieved even if that hadn’t been their main base of assumptions.

“No, I realize now that we should have clarified that earlier in all of…this…but our move and hiding had nothing to do with you or anyone any of you know particularly well.” Shintarō was quick to say, pushing his glasses up.

“I am sort of glad we knew what we were in for, because we knew exactly what to look out for. No majors or studies he would be looking for, no outstanding scores or deeds that would attract massive attention…Shin-chan even went for a different field within medicine just so it’d be less likely!”

“I must admit I was bitter at first, but I do find my current job enjoyable, and I’m still helping people and practicing medicine on top of it all. This is as good I could hope to get within the circumstances, I believe."

“Haha, it really helped him with his stubbornness, I think.” Kazunari laughed and poked his cheek.

“Shin-chan only did the basic four years, and he mostly helped out other people in the US but here he’s raring to make his own clinic here!” Kazunari beamed proudly, resting both hands and then his head on his husband’s shoulder, who actually still flustered at that.

“So am I right in thinking that Akashicchi and Momoicchi lied about not knowing where you were?” Ryōta asked next, leaning forward with the others doing the same a beat later. Those two had been everyone’s first and last hope, and one of the reasons they had assumed the worst. For /them/ to not even be able to find traces…Midorima could only conceivably be dead.

That was too far a worst case scenario, and there were ridiculous and funny working theories, but although it hurt that the two geniuses had “betrayed” the rest of their friends in order to keep two of them safe…it could conceivably be seen as the only way.

“What was the harm in us knowing?” Daiki read his mind, of course, sounding a little hurt and displeased.

“I really do have to apologize and hope you all will accept it.” When Shintarō lowered his head his bangs darkened his face and eyes, lips as tense as the hands tightly gripping the tops of his slacks. Beside him Kazunari paled almost pure white, expression ashamed. Mitsuki happened to catch his eye, and he couldn’t even give her a better response, Tetsuya immediately stepped in.

“I do feel that Kazunari-kun and Shintarō-kun are absolute idiots and shouldn’t have taken all of this upon themselves alone, rushing ahead towards a solution to the worst possibility on top of that before it even proved necessary. But…I must admit although I feel I have an idea, I do not know Shintarō-kun’s parents that well, and I could never fully understand your fears or circumstances. You did what you felt had to be done.” He held his hand out as an offering, Kazunari noticing it first and brightening up a bit, quickly placing their hands together.

A moment later Shintarō caught on, placing his open palm on top of the other two’s hands as if they were doing a pre-game huddle cheer. There was a moment of nothing, and then Kazunari shot his hand away as he swung his body all the way to the floor with how hard he was laughing. In the end Tetsuya was the only one who /wasn’t/ laughing, outwardly at least, and you’d almost think Shintarō had been set up with how he reacted. (Mitsuki just looked over her shoulder, very confused).

Shintarō nudged Kazunari with a bit of force to get him to straighten up, and then continued like nothing had happened.

“Akashi had told me about the lengths to which his father had tracked down a single employee at risk of spreading something along the lines of “false information” and I realized that my own father, my extended family in fact, had good reason to do it and more than enough resources, so we indeed went above and beyond in order to try to avoid them.”

“I don’t know if this makes it better, but not even Akashi or Momoi knew where we were after we started moving around within the US. That was actually why we didn’t stay in our original spot, it wouldn’t matter much if word got out where that was, since we were moving far enough away. So…yeah, it didn’t really matter who knew, but letters just might be intercepted and emails could reveal our IP address. _I’m_ not calling anyone a blabbermouth, but even a flyaway thought could be bad, you know? Well I wish we had thought of the moving idea sooner, but we moved to the US in such a rush we couldn’t even tell any of you guys we were fine and not to worry.” Kazunari rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.  
“My father has enough allies that even saying it out loud in the wrong place could get us found.” Shintarō quickly got in before anyone else could talk to supply more information, then settling back and signaling whoever wanted to speak next.

“So you mean to tell me you were absolutely never in Busan? Scratch that, anywhere in Korea?” Taiga jumped in first, but everyone seemed pleased with that being asked next. Kazunari honestly laughed at that before calming down and apologizing.

“Please…oh man, I’m really not calling you guys stupid, I swear, but the way it works is just really funny. So I have family there which is partially why I chose it, I just know it inside and out. I only set foot in Korea once the entire time I pretended to live there, and I took a whole bunch of photos then, well keeping the tourist-y stuff mostly for us and later posting like the side streets near my Aunt’s house and such for my aesthetic posts. Pretty much all the posts that got the most attention were places that were undeniably Korean and I put a lot of work into, but the “homey” pictures I posted the most were of nondescript places in the US.” He wasn’t the only one grinning by the end, the guests definitely finding that clever.

“So what about Mitsuki?” Tetsuya asked in that gap, glancing over at the now obviously drowsy girl.

“Kazunari and I were already speaking seriously about children in the future but we, uh…didn’t quite mean to have one so early.” A laugh shot out of Kazunari, and Shintarō shot him a look. Ryōta especially looked amused but like he knew the feeling, glancing over at Daiki with a bit of sass.

“She’s turning six this year, and unfortunately she came when I was still in the middle of my bachelor’s, so I had to drop out and plan to get back into it when she’s a bit older.” Kazunari fondly looked over at her, although his grin widened when he saw what Tetsuya did.

“Excuse me” He said softly to the rest of them, pushing himself out from under the table.

“Mitsuki, are you falling asleep?” He sing-song asked as he approached her, kneeling beside but not touching her. She had switched between several toys and puzzles while he was talking, but now she was asleep on her stomach, marker perfectly upright in her chubby little hand and above the paper as if her head has fallen mid-line.

As soon as she heard his voice her head popped up again.

“No!!” she said stubbornly, continuing to draw although she faded again quickly. Snickering quietly, Kazunari leaned forward and scooped her up before leaning back into a squat while rolling her close to his body.

“Oh, that’s good! After all we always brush our teeth and clean up our toys before we go to bed, right?” He asked, now turning his body halfway so that he was facing the door and their guests.

At the reminder Mitsuki honest to god woke up, looked her parents right in the eyes and then dared to slump entirely into Kazunari’s arms, snoring loudly.

Kazunari was so startled he laughed his butt right onto the ground, then leaning even further back while everyone who had already been laughing burst out even further. Mitsuki was up for good now, it seemed, and although a little grumpy obviously pleased with herself, too.

Putting Mitsuki feet back on the floor, Kazunari crawled on all fours towards the toy shelf across from the TV and pulled a timer out of the mass. Putting it on the table and setting it, he looked over at Mitsuki with a grin.

“Runners, on your mark! Get set! Go!” He pushed the button with a short beep and like a train Mitsuki was speedily cleaning up the floor, eager to win the race. Or was it a game?

Making an ok sign with two fingers towards his husband and winking cheekily at the others, Kazunari went into the hallway to get everything else ready, Shintarō gaining their attention after he left.

“When Kazunari comes back we’ll explain the whole story.” He promised, everyone leaning forward into their seats just thinking about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was on the right path to posting this chapter on the eXACT three-year anniversary of the last, but I keep telling myself compared to three year six days isn't really much. LOLOLOL (probably worst of all is that I got so close and then just abandoned it for six days because I got bored(?) with it again orz.)
> 
> Also: look at how freaking old this chapter is, I dropped a goddamn Fran Bow reference just because that was the hot game at the time! lol
> 
> It's not such a secret anymore, originally I was gonna have a super small contest to see if someone could guess where I got Mitsuki's name from. I was talking about my love for Arina Tanemura right in the comments of Feathers Flutter (and on my profile, probably other fics as well...) so it's not as much of a game anymore and so that's no longer available lol. So yuup, my fav manga of all time is Fullmoon but I also genuinely love Mitsuki on her own (and all the jokes and symbolism about her name) so I just had to make it our midotaka girl's name!!
> 
> I'm sad the two people who implied they had a guess in the comments of chapter one are gone now...I also could be wrong but right then and there I imagined they thought I was writing a "takamido!! Mido secretly gets pregnant and doesn't tell Takao about it but comes back years later!!!" sorta thing but nah...I was genuinely gonna have a /bit/ more mystery than that. I might be overly proud of myself for what I came up with, but there are a few more twists and turns in the next chapter as well~
> 
> I don't have big plans to revive every abandoned fic soon, I am still trying to prioritize Feathers Flutter and also write all the oneshot ideas I've loved this past year. I can't imagine this being more than three chapters unless I split the last one up, it could be pretty long just because of how much I wanna tell in it. No real deadline for this, not that anything else really does, but I hope to finish chapter three sometime in December 2018, feel free to poke me when the time comes near because I procrastinate this a lot lol.
> 
> Comments encourage me to actually fucking write: @ me *sideeyes*

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaaaaay for stupid awkward cliffhangers~!!!!
> 
> Continuing from above, I'm really going to try to make more of an effort to contribute to the fandom with all the ideas I have stored starting next year. Admittedly I said the same thing on DA last year and ended up posting nearly nothing, but writing also comes to me a little easier so I'm hoping it'll be more possible.
> 
> This is actually the exact place I finished the story when I gave up on it in September, so when I re-read it I kinda felt like "hey, this could be a good cliffhanger!" (since it was originally going to be a oneshot). I'm hoping if I cut it up into chapters it'll somehow encourage me to finish it faster but in smaller doses? *sweat drop*
> 
> I honestly am a big KagaKuro fan so I apologize for there being no real "moments" between them, but AoKi seems a bit easier for me a write somehow? In public places in particular, I think I could write cute fluffy KagaKuro all day if they were snuggled up together in their own house, but when it comes to snogging in public I can only think of AoKi XDDDD


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